1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to Internet advertising, and more specifically, to a system and method for increasing click-through rates of Internet banner advertisements.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The rapidly expanding presence of the Internet has produced an increased recognition of the importance of web advertising. As compared to more traditional media such as television or radio, advertising on the Web is based on web page views and is more easily quantifiable. In large part, each page view represents a transaction between a client (or user""s) computer and a web server. These individual client-server interactions permit more deterministic measures of the reach of particular advertising campaigns. This is in marked contrast to television and radio advertising which rely on surveys to estimate the reach of advertising efforts.
One of the primary forms of web advertising is through banner advertisements (ads). Banner ads typically appear at or near the top of a web page. The banner ads can be delivered by an ad server that tracks the individual deliveries of the banner ads, thereby monitoring the reach of particular web advertising campaigns. The banner ads also represent a link to the advertiser""s site, which can be reacted by clicking on the banner ad.
Banner ad packages are typically sold on a cost per thousand impressions basis. An impression or page view, ccurs when a visitor to a web site views a page where a banner ad is displayed. The prices of the banner ad packages typically range from 20-75 dollars per thousand impressions. Many factors influence the price of these banner ad packages.
Ultimately, the success of the banner ad campaign is based upon the levels of positive user response. Positive user response can be reflected through an increase in sales of a product. Alternatively, positive user response can be reflected in the number of xe2x80x9cclick-throughs.xe2x80x9d A xe2x80x9cclick-throughxe2x80x9d occurs when a visit sees or reads the banner ad and clicks on it, taking them directly to the advertiser""s web site.
The click-through rate can be used as the basis for pricing banner ad packages. Thus, instead of a cost per thousand impression the banner ad package can be priced as a cost per click-through. Click-through averages generally range between 0.5% and 2%. For this reason, some web sites try to avoid selling advertising based on click-through rates because a low click-through rate will severely limit ad revenue. What is needed therefore is a system and method for increasing the click-through rates of the banner ads.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a system and method that delivers user interactive banner advertisements (ads) that implement a gaining function. The user completes the gaming function by interacting with an advertiser""s web site upon clicking through the banner ad.
In a preferred embodiment, the user interactive banner ad is delivered through the interaction of a client computer with a web server and an ad server. In this process, a client computer first transmits a first uniform resource locator (URL) request to a web server. The client computer subsequently receives web page data from the web server. The web page data includes banner ad data that identifies the source of one or more components (e.g., text, graphic image data, applet executable code, etc.) to be used in rendering a banner ad in the web page defined by the web page data.
The client computer retrieves the components by transmitting a second URL request to an ad server. If the source of the components is applet executable code (e.g., Java applet), then the client computer receives computer program logic for storage on a computer usable medium in the client computer. The computer program logic generally includes a means for enabling a processor in the client computer to implement the user interactive gaming function within a portion of the banner ad. In one example, the computer program logic implements an Internet scratch-off game and includes (1) a first means for enabling a processor in the client computer to display at least one secondary image on a display screen, wherein the secondary image corresponds to a gaming symbol image, and (2) a second means for enabling the processor in the client computer to replace a portion of the secondary image on the display screen with a corresponding portion of the gaming symbol image, wherein the portion defines a display area that corresponds to a display area covered by the movement in a cursor position.
After the user finishes the interaction with the banner ad gaming function (e.g., scratching off the secondary images on the game card), the user transmits a third URL request to a merchant web server that is sponsoring the banner ad. The third URL request includes game state information that is indicative of an input or result of the user interactive gaming function. In one example, the game state information is an identifier of the gaming symbol image that is displayed on the user interactive portion of the banner ad. The game state information is processed by the merchant server to determine whether the user is qualified to win a prize. If the user is qualified to win a prize, the user completes the gaming function (e.g., filling out a prize claim form with name and address information).
It is a feature of the present invention that the click-through process can be integrated with the user actions that are carried out in a user interactive area of a banner ad. Various scenarios can be implemented such that a user is automatically transferred to a merchant web site. For example, the system can be designed to initiate a click-through upon the stoppage of the user""s scratching, after the lapse of a predetermined period of time (e.g., 2 seconds) after the user has initiated scratching, after the system determines that enough of the cover image has been scratched off, etc.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.